The devil and Rick Santorum

It really shouldn’t be shocking that Rick Santorum believes Satan operates in the world. Sixty percent of Americans agree with him, according to a 2009 Harris Poll.

Americans are probably more accustomed to hearing such things from the pulpit. But there’s no reason a political figure shouldn’t profess widely held religious views.

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What should be disconcerting to voters, however, is that the former senator believes Satan is influencing his political opponents. It’s part of Santorum’s pattern of labeling those who disagree with him, and their ideas, as evil. What, one wonders, would someone with the powers of the presidency do if he believes the loyal opposition is marked by iniquity.

There’s nothing wrong with Santorum’s emphasis on moral issues. It’s laudable and refreshing. What raises doubts is that he seems to conclude that his opponents go by the number 666.

Those who disagree with Santorum probably do have a different perception of what is moral. They may be wrong, and he may be right. But they are not evil for disagreeing with him.

Santorum’s 2008 comments about the devil, which sparked a firestorm after they were uncovered last week by the Drudge Report, are alarming because he connected the devil’s work with Congress — and clearly, liberals in Congress.

Speaking at a Catholic university, Santorum argued that the devil launched his assault on America by first penetrating its colleges. Satan, Santorum said, had started there because he “understood the pride of smart people” — which is that “they were in fact smarter than everybody else.”

From there, Santorum explains, the influence of The Beast extended into society at large, which meant the devil could eventually get into politics — and did.

It is generally accepted now that academia is largely liberal and so influencing society’s future leaders. But liberal thinking, even if you think it is wrongheaded, is not satanic. And those who support Democrats are not being guided by Mephistopheles in the voting booth.

Santorum has also repeatedly likened the 2012 election to the World War II era, suggesting America’s freedoms are similarly imperiled. He has denied it, but the parallel he is drawing between President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler seems clear.

Santorum, at a megachurch outside Atlanta, compared what he described as prevailing ignorance of Obama’s statist policies to Americans’ initial failure to recognize the danger of Hitler.

“Remember, the greatest generation for a year and a half sat on the sidelines while Europe was under darkness,” Santorum said of the period before America’s entry into the war.

He continued:

“We’re a hopeful people. We think, ‘Well, you know, it’ll get better. Yeah, he’s a nice guy. I mean, it won’t be near as bad as what we think. This will be OK. I mean, yeah, maybe he’s not the best guy.’ After a while, you find out some things about this guy over in Europe who’s not so good of a guy after all … It’s going to be harder for this generation to figure this out. There’s no cataclysmic event.”